REGION — Public confidence in self-driving cars remains low, both in their ability to navigate city streets and in their potential impact on driving and delivery jobs, according to a report released Thursday by researchers at UC San Diego.
The study, accepted for publication in “Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,” analyzed responses from 4,631 U.S. adults in the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. It revealed a “complex landscape of economic apprehensions that could impede widespread AV adoption if left unaddressed,” according to a UC San Diego statement.
About 85% of respondents believed driverless cars, such as those operated by Waymo, would lead to job losses. Slightly more than 46% said widespread use of the technology would increase the income gap between higher- and lower-income Americans, compared with about 6% who believed it would decrease the gap.
More than 62% of respondents said they “probably or definitely” would not want to ride in a driverless vehicle, researchers found.
“Driverless cars are often framed as an engineering challenge, but it’s also a profound sociotechnical transition,” said Behram Wali, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the UC San Diego School of Social Sciences. “This study develops a new behavioral framework to reveal a critical tension: how Americans’ willingness to embrace driverless cars is directly tied to their fears of job loss and income inequality.
“These findings show many Americans are evaluating automated vehicles as a broader social and economic change — not just whether the technology works, but who benefits and who bears the costs.”
The study suggests public trust is shaped not only by concerns about artificial intelligence operating multi-ton vehicles around drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, but also by broader economic and social consequences.
According to the research, groups that were “more aware of automated vehicles, used the internet more frequently, or had higher levels of education and income” were more willing to ride in driverless cars. However, they were also more likely to believe the technology could worsen income inequality and disrupt jobs.
Lower-income respondents and people living in rural and nonmetropolitan areas were less inclined to adopt driverless cars but still expressed strong concern about potential negative economic impacts.
If driverless vehicle companies want to gain public trust, Wali said they should adopt a broader “socio-technical” approach that pairs technological development with “proactive policy strategies that address economic anxieties and equity concerns,” according to the UC San Diego statement.
“While conventional strategies such as increasing awareness and tech-savviness are helpful and necessary to boost AV acceptance, this study shows that such strategies alone cannot address the fundamental employment and economic concerns,” Wali said. “We cannot afford a laissez-faire approach to AV regulation. Policymakers must ensure that underrepresented groups are not left behind.”
The question now is not whether the United States will see widespread adoption of the technology, but when.
“This study proposes critical policy interventions, including workforce protection through reskilling and upskilling initiatives, expanded social safety nets and programs to ensure equitable access across the geographic and social fabric of the nation,” Wali said.
